ANKARA MEDIA REACTION REPORT

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 ANKARA 002487 SIPDIS SIPDIS DEPARTMENT FOR INR/R/MR, EUR/SE, EUR/PD, NEA/PD, DRL JCS PASS J-5/CDR S. WRIGHT E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: OPRC KMDR TU SUBJECT: ANKARA MEDIA REACTION REPORT FRIDAY, OCTOBER 5, 2007 In Today's Papers AKP Seeks Opposition Support on Oct.21 Referendum Change All papers report the ruling AKP will amend a text on constitutional reforms to be submitted to referendum October 21 to avoid any challenge to the status of President Abdullah Gul. The AKP said a clause in the referendum text that stipulates Turkey's 11th president, a position currently held by Gul, must be elected through direct popular vote would be removed. The new wording would say that all presidents after Gul will be elected by popular vote. AKP had talks with opposition CHP and MHP with regard to the possibility of changing the clause. On Thursday, MHP leader Bahceli said various comments regarding the possible consequences of a "yes" vote for the constitutional package made it clear that the vote will cause political tension. Parliament must move swiftly to prevent this, Bahceli said, pledging full support for the withdrawal of the clause from the constitutional amendment package. CHP, meanwhile, said the referendum process must be stopped, rather than having the text changed. The amendments to be submitted to the referendum would also cut the president's term to five years from seven, renewable by another five, and the parliament's term to four from five years. PKK Condemnation Added to Armenian Genocide Resolution Radikal, Cumhuriyet, Zaman and others report that US Congress members have added a clause condemning PKK terror to the Armenian genocide resolution as a "mitigating factor." Leftist-nationalist Cumhuriyet reports the Congress would raise the resolution for debate October 10. Papers report that Democrat lawmaker Steny Hoyer has said following the adoption of the resolution in the Foreign Relations Committee, it would be adopted by the Congress before November 22. Kurdish DTP Complains of Double Standard on Immunity Hurriyet, Sabah, Radikal, Cumhuriyet, Zaman and others report Kurdish party DTP lawmaker Hasip Kaplan said at a news conference he held in the parliament that a court ruling to continue the trials of three DTP deputies was illegal. The court ruled that court cases launched against DTP deputies Aysel Tugluk, Sebahat Tuncel and Ayla Akat Ata before they were elected would reportedly continue even though the MPs have parliamentary immunity. Kaplan criticized the judiciary's "discriminatory" approach, and said that when summoned, the lawmakers would not go to the prosecutor. Business daily Referans reports Hasip Kaplan recalled that Prime Minister Erdogan had invited Hamas to Ankara despite the fact that it is on the EU and US terror lists. "Having saluted Hamas officials in Ankara, the Prime Minister cannot press me to name the PKK a terror organization," Kaplan said. He said the DTP views the PKK as an "armed political illegal organization." Kaplan accused the media, the military and the government of engaging in a systematic attack against the DTP. US Inspectors Investigating the Missing US Weapons Yeni Safak, Zaman, Star: Responding to Turkey's continuing complaints, the US sent a delegation to Turkey last week under the lead of retired General Claude Kicklighter, Inspector General of the Department of Defence. The delegation had meetings with the Foreign Ministry, Turkish National Police and the General Staff. Turkish officials told the US delegation that the missing US weapons from Iraq continue to enter Turkey and are being used by the PKK terrorists and that the US should take necessary steps to stop it. Turkish authorities warned the US delegation that 811 US-made weapons, including 14 M-16s were confiscated in Turkey in the first nine months of the year. Yeni Safak adds that PM Erdogan had already presented President Bush with a "Blue File" last year containing information on the missing weapons, and is planning to present the second file on the same issue during his upcoming visit to the US in November. ANKARA 00002487 002 OF 003 FM Babacan Plans to Travel to Iraq Liberal Radikal and Islamist-oriented Zaman report that FM Ali Babacan, to encourage the attendance at the Iraq's Neighbors Meeting in Istanbul on November 2-3, is starting a Middle East tour this weekend. It is expected that Babacan will pay a visit to Iraq as well. Papers highlight that Babacan will be the first top level Turkish official to visit Baghdad since the US occupation of Iraq in March 2003. Editorial Commentary: US Turkey Policy, Iraq Haluk Ulman observes in the business daily Dunya: "Analyzing Turkish-American relations requires acknowledging the fact that there is no single US entity to refer to. The White House, the Congress with two branches, Pentagon, think-tanks, lobbies and media -- they are all the US and don't necessarily have the same or even similar views on Turkey. Congress and the White House both agree on the geo-strategic importance of Turkey and do not want to lose Turkey. The methodology is of course not the same for the different parties. Republicans and the White House want Turkey to accept the autonomous status of Iraqi Kurds and engage in close dialogue with them. It is a bare fact that Ankara, on the other hand, is sympathetic neither to dialogue with the Northern Iraqi Kurds nor to the establishment of American military bases in Northern Iraq. Republicans and Democrats also differ on policy priority on the future of Turkish-American ties. The Bush administration's foreign policy was founded on the conflict of civilizations, i.e. the conflict of religious ideology. Turkey should position itself as moderate Islamic country to reduce this conflict according to their argument. Democrats however do not prioritize religion, and focus on human rights and freedoms instead. Rights of ethnic and religious minorities are a priority issue for Democrats. Thus when they think about Turkey they focus on issues like the Armenian genocide resolution, Christian properties and the opening of a seminary. In the near future an Armenian Genocide Resolution is on the way. The Bush administration is too weak to prevent it. The Jewish lobby is not supportive of Turkey any longer. The future of bilateral ties is not very bright." Sami Kohen writes in the mainstream daily Milliyet: "The US Senate passed a resolution suggesting a federal system for Iraq which surprisingly had a unifying impact on Iraqi groups. Putting militant Kurds aside, the majority of Sunnis and Shiites spoke in a single voice saying they are against the division of the country. The Senate decision which was revised and explained by Senator Biden, does not reflect the official US policy for Iraq. In any case, the common perception about the resolution is that this is the beginning of a process to divide Iraq into three, based on ethnic and sectarian lines. A federal system is also a provision within the Iraqi Constitution. I think the main question is how to form a federal system that would ensure territorial integrity and national unity. There are successful examples of federal systems around the world, as Senator Biden suggested. But there are examples of failure as well, such as Yugoslavia and Belgium which is on the verge of division. Ankara believes that the best solution for Iraq is to let Iraqis decide how to be ruled. Turkey also wants the Iraqi federal system to attach fundamental authority to the central administration. Otherwise it will pave the way for eventual disintegration which means division in the end." TV Highlights --NTV, 7.00 A.M. Domestic News - French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner is due to visit Ankara on Friday for talks with President Gul, Prime Minister Erdogan and Foreign Minister Babacan. Before coming to Turkey, Kouchner will meet EU Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn in Paris to review the Turkish file. - Parliament's human rights commission headed by Prof. Zafer Uskul ANKARA 00002487 003 OF 003 will visit the relatives of 12 people killed last week in a minivan in the southeastern province of Sirnak. - The Court of Appeals has upheld the 18-year prison sentence given to the murderer of Catholic priest Andrea Santoro in the Black Sea city of Trabzon in February 2006. The murderer, who was 17 years old when he killed the priest, will be released from jail after 8.5 years when he turns 26. - Turkey's elite business forum TUSIAD pointed to the risks stemming from delays in Turkey's EU accession bid, and called for more reforms. International News - The World Health Organization (WHO) said on Thursday cholera has jumped the border from Iraq to Iran, highlighting the need for neighboring countries to boost their defenses against the deadly disease which has struck over 3,000 people in Iraq. - President Jalal Talabani told the Washington Post Iraq is buying 100 million dollars of light military equipment for its police from China because the US cannot provide the material. - Britain's Special Cyprus Representative Joan Ryan said after meeting Turkish and Greek Cypriot leaders Talat and Papadopoulos that the Cyprus question would become the focus of attention after the Greek Cypriot elections in February. - Kirkuk is to hold a census on November 15 in preparation for a referendum that will determine the future of the city. WILSON